13 Responses

It is interesting to note that each of the GRAPHICAL versions have hijacked Carl Sagan to their “cause” and they push a specific agenda, or perhaps, propoganda will be a more appropriate term, via the graphical imagery. It is also interesting to note that many muslim websites have adopted “Mister Karl Saygun” as one of their own who “finally submitted to the will of allah”, without them unitentionally or intentionally realizing that he was a fellow atheist to the core.

Anyway, to get back to the question of Where do YOU Fit In? Honestly, I hate this pale blue dot crap. Though I love Carl Sagan and he is my HERO.

I already woke up this morning stressed because of the work I have in front of me and afraid because I don’t want to one day wake up and be old. Life is slipping through my fingers, and most people are kidding themselves if they think it’s not slipping through theirs, too.

Our society (in the U.S. I mean) is structured for us to continually work and strive to have more. We sacrifice 5 days of 7 to meet that goal, a goal which is unattainable because it is an ever-growing variable: x = more than you currently have. Our time is finite. Everyone you know one day will die. And yet we rush and push and we never cease judging each other and ourselves.

Then I see something like this and I’m reminded of our total and utter insignificance and of the immensity of the mystery that will forever be beyond our ability to understand and comprehend. WWTTFF are we doing? Why TF can’t we stop?

I am not placated by the religions of the world that tell me that I will be saved. I, unfortunately, can’t help but believe the traditions/religions of the East that say that I am stuck here until I find my own way out of this horrible mind-F. And I am terrified that I will not do that for many more lifetimes. I don’t want to be here. Stuck here in this endless cycle of life and death, of duality, of limitations, and of the silly and moronic shackles of our society.

I wish I were free! I wish I were free!

But I’m not. No matter how many times I experience a taste of the infinite beauty that awaits us through some kind of transcendental experience, it always slips back into obscurity.

Sorry but this video is bullshit because it can’t help but make me wish I were living in the beauty and truth of the infinity that surrounds us. And here I am. Stuck on this effing pale blue dot :)-

BTW,there are a thousand and one u-tube GRAPHICAL versions of Pale Blue Dot floating around the cyberspace. Here is another one of many:

It is a long time since I’ve thought of Carl Sagan and a good reminder that our life here is quite remarkable. It is a reminder to be more appreciative of our lives and the time we have here and to really and truly try and be better people who are more understanding, kind and caring to others on this journey.

Because I think the fact that we’re this little blip is actually quite cool. Matter never ceases to exist … it just moves around … and for a little while, it came together to create us. When we’re gone, it will move on to somewhere else … that’s awesome. As insignificant as we may seem, we are in fact a part of a larger system that doesn’t end.

What did I see in that video? I saw Voyager, I saw Earth, I saw the Galaxy. I saw what existence is. This is it man, this ain’t no place of suffering, this ain’t no illusion man. This is it! This is all there is!

If you have read “Purpose Driven Life”, the bestseller by Rick Warren, the purpose of life is what you make of it. If you feel that more more more is the purpose of life, than yes you will constantly be striving for more more more and never be sated. BUT, if you feel that life is connecting with others and enjoying what is around you and doing enough to get along, then you might achieve this earlier.

In the end there is no reincarnation, there is no god, there is no ultimate “why”. The “why” is what you make of it and the “what” and “how” is of your own choosing. If you are unhappy with the pursuit of accumulation, you have but yourself to blame and no one else because YOU decided accumulation was the ultimate goal.
Rosemary C

ex-mooz, are ya ok? you seem depressed? and every other sentence laced with “profane” words?

i read somewhere that it is a sign of lack of intelligence or lack of self-confidence or sign of depression or all three. I think you need to go see a shrink or call the suicide prevention hotline pronto :)-

ex, your life is what you do with it. You can either be stuck on this pale blue dot, or you can live on this pale blue dot. quit your job, sell all your stuff, buy yourself a nice little hippy bus painted in psychedelic paints, and do some traveling for a year or so.

you said “I wish I were free! I wish I were free!” But you never defined freedom. Define freedom succinctly, will ya. If you define it as free from all physical and social limitations, then you’re bound for disappointment. If you define it as *free to* do this or that, undertake, accomplish, then you have some reason to hope. Remember that it’s just a blue dot. You’re the one defining it as a @#$%&*+ blue dot.

mooz, disease, yes, my 82 year old grandma is bedridden after an infection put her in the hospital where she lost strength in her legs where cancer had struck them years earlier. She will likely either spend the rest of her life in a hospital or home. poverty, yes, my cousins and aunt all work at the same lowes movie theater for years because they were all sadly underachievers in life. my hubby about a year ago had a cancer scare, he got lucky and it was a rare treatable condition. (The only man I know who could fall into a pile of crap and come out smelling like roses).

do I judge? of course I do, as you can tell. it’s a rare breed of person that doesn’t. however, I try not to let my judgements cloud my opinions of people until I get to know them. i’m not saying this world is full of crap, you and i both know it is. people die every day over stuff we could prevent easily and they sadly are victims of geography. horrible things happen all the time and can we prevent some of them, yeah, we can and it’s sad we don’t.

you know what though, ex mooz? I’m an optimist, I believe that we can make things better. I hold my head up high everyday and be the best person I can possibly be without compromising my dreams for my future. I’ll hold the door for you, I’ll help you pick up your dropped notes and if you’re down I’ll do whatever I can to help you give a shot at making things better.

y’know what the alternative is, ex mooz? Feeling like garbage all the time, letting the world get to you. constantly seeing what you can’t do instead of what you can do in the world. I see this little blue speck of ours and say what little part can I play to make it just a little bit better. So I’ll say again ex mooz , you can choose to be **”stuck” ** on this pale blue dot or you can choose to **”live” ** on this pale blue dot.

one last thing and then i will shut up, mooz. acceptance of your situation, mooz, will make you happier person. I am a devout quaker and the serenity prayer (lord’s prayer too) shows a lot of insight into human nature and has certainly gone a long way towards helping me improving my life on this “blue dot”.

I simply wished there was more Carl Sagan or people like him who could give us a perspectives about life on earth.

Carl was respected Astronomer / Cosmologist and hope we could see other producing their own version of this. To me what is wonderful, astonishing, amazing, staggering, suprising is the scale of the whole thing ….

I have to agree with Louise Enakai; if you don’t like your life, do something to change it or make it better. If nothing else, just try to see the positive even in the things that make it seem negative

I am not a fan of the “Purpose Driven Life”, and yes, I’ve read it. It seemed too shallow and cliched but that is my opinion. If you want to know what you should do in life, find out what it is that you love to do and make it happen.

People should share their joy, peace, and love with others while doing their best to minimize negativity, hatred, etc.

I am a believer in the afterlife and karma, so sharing positive energy with others may bring more positive energy your way, too. Bad things do happen to good people just as good things happen to bad people. However, having optimism, love, and respect can bring you peace and joy.

It sounds vague because people are so different, and I don’t believe there is only one “right” way to live. Artists are every bit as important as doctors. One heals the soul while the other heals the body. The world is beautiful because of its diversity. Do what you love and encourage others to do the same. Try to be more open-minded of the way other people choose to live. That’s my advice.

I enjoyed this video. The vastness and complexity of the universe give us some idea of the nature of the Creator who manifested in Arès, France, in 1974 (Jesus as messenger) and 1977 (speaking directly from a stick of light). We are indeed a privileged species because we have been given a spiritual nature, the image and likeness of our Creator. This means we can create. We have choice. Who can save us? Only we ourselves, by choosing to change, to practice love, forgiveness, peacemaking, to free ourselves from all prejudice, to develop our spiritual intelligence. “Wake up world” indeed. It is time we restored what our Creator had in mind for us, a place of happiness.